The Secret Gem
by Domonique Marie
Summary: Justin Bieber is recently checked into rehab for his coke addiction and low and behold, he hates it. But it's something that he has to do in order to get back on track and live his stardom lifestyle again. Then he meets Julia. Is Julia the one to change him for the better? Will she be the one that changes his life forever? Let's find out, together.
1. Intro

**INTRO CHAPTER**

* * *

Police sirens were roaring outside.

The red and blue lights danced across the walls of the dimly lit motel room where he was currently staying. He paid it no mind though.

He sat on the edge of the motel bed, staring down at the powdery substance he so delicately organized moments ago. He let out a short sniffle as he stared intensely at those three, clean lines that sat on this small nightstand.

He has it all: the money, the fame, the love of all of his adoring fans. But is it enough?

Will it ever be enough?

There was a loud knock at the door of the motel room, which immediately took him out of his hypnotic-like trance. He stared at the door like it was his life-long enemy. He stood up, wiped the clamminess of his hands on his black jeans, and stalked over towards the door.

"What?" he asked aggressively.

"It's me," her soft voice quivered.

He scoffed but opened the door a crack before letting her walk through the threshold of the ice-cold room.

She instantly shivers and puts her petite arms over her chest.

"Jesus, it's freezing in here," she says through rattling teeth.

He rolls his eyes.

"You know I like it cold. Don't be fucking surprised," he growls as he slams the door. He plops himself in the same spot he left a second ago and stares at the three lines, once again. They mock him.

_You need us to feel something. You need us to keep yourself sane for at least an hour before you go back into your little hole of despair again._

Shut up. Shut up. Shut UP.

He lifts the rolled-up dollar that he's been holding for the past 20 minutes and slowly bends his face closer to the powdery substance. He positions the dollar so the bottom end is right above the first, clean line that he made. He stares at it for a second, then he covers his right nostril with his pointer finger and begins to inhale the powdery substance. He traces the substance until it has fully disappeared off the nightstand and into his nasal cavity.

The numbing starts to form in the middle of his throat. He sits up and throws his head backward. He lets out an aggressive sniffle and then looks forward. She stands at the entrance of the bathroom doorway, staring at him.

His head rolls slowly towards her direction. The tension in his face slowly fades and he eventually gives her a small smirk.

"Come here baby," he motions with his fingers.

She slowly walks towards him in tiny strides, her arms still wrapped around her chest. She sits in his lap and cradles his neck. He inhales her perfume, deeply, before pressing his forehead against hers. She gives a small smile before maneuvering her head to left so that she can plant a soft kiss on his lips. He smiles through the kiss, then pulls away.

"Put on one of my sweaters if you're cold," he mumbled before getting up and walking towards the front door of the room.

"Where are you going?" she asks.

He puts on his bright, yellow cotton sweater before turning the knob and walking over the threshold.

"I need to make a phone call. Sit tight babe," he says before he closes the door behind him.

His footsteps are heavy against the concrete sidewalk. He walks towards the little black BMW he drove in with the night before. He unlocks the car doors and hastily sits inside, slamming the driver's door afterward. The coolness of the leather on his seats calms him down a little. Even though he's wired, he still feels calm. He takes out his phone from the pocket of his jeans and unlocks the facial recognition. His little sister's smile beams up at him. This was his favorite wallpaper by far.

He clicks the Contacts app and finds her name at the top. He clicks it and the phone starts to ring.

A second later, the phone clicks.

"Justin?" the voice answers in a panicked tone.

Man, he hasn't heard her voice in so long. He's ashamed that he forgot what she sounded like. A single tear left his eye and rolled down his cheek.

"Justin, baby, are you there?" the voice repeats.

He clears his throat as he sits upright and nods his head.

"Hi-hi mom, yes. I'm here," he responds.

She breaks out into sobs. He doesn't know what to say. What to do. He just sits and listens to her sobbing through the phone for a solid 5 minutes. He clears his throat again.

"Mom, please, I'm-I'm s-s-s-sorry," his voice breaks. He's crying now, too.

Her sobbing grows softer and is now sniffling through the phone.

"Baby, come home. Come home, Justin. We can help you. I can help you. I just need you to please…..please come home. I don't want to see you go through this anymore. Please."

His crying stops and he stares intently at his steering wheel. The shortness of his breath turns into slow and deep breaths. He nods slowly as if she could see him from outside of his car. He needed her to hold him. He needed her to tell him that it was all going to be okay. He just wanted the pain to stop.

He nodded to himself one more time before clearing his throat and responding to her.

"I'm coming home. I'll be there tomorrow morning. I….I love you, Mom."

She starts to sob again.

"I love you too, Justin. Please come home."

He hung up and placed the phone in one of the cupholders. His head turned towards the motel door of his room, then stared straight ahead. He pressed his fingers onto the button that started his car and it turned bright orange. He placed his other hand on the driver's gear stick and slowly placed the gear in reverse. He backed out of the space and put the car in drive. He looked at the door of the motel room before he zoomed away onto the paved road and into the night


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

* * *

*Knock knock knock*

"Jules? You there? It's time for our family meeting," Lily yells through the closed door.

The sound of heavy dubstep fills her eardrums as she furiously scribbles in her leatherbound journal.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"JULES," Lily roars.

The heavy knocks fell in sync with the downbeats of the song, leaving her unphased.

Lily heavily sighed and slipped the master key of the house into the keyhole of her room. Lily stormed into the room and stopped abruptly at the foot of her bed. Lily crossed her arms in annoyance, waiting for her to notice her presence.

She continued tapping her foot lightly to the beat of the music with her hand waving in the air, at the same tempo. She was mouthing the silly, electronic sounds until she finally looked up to see an irritated Lily.

She instantly took out one of her AirPods from her right ear and the music suddenly stopped. She placed both AirPods on the pillow beside her and gave Lily a small nod.

"What's up, Sherley Temple?" she asked, paying no mind to Lily's obvious frustration. She was referencing Lily's short, bright red curly hair. She always asked Lily to sing about Animal Crackers in her soup, at dinners. Lily was never amused by the idea.

"You know I hate that nickname, Jules," Lily scoffs as she uncrosses her arms.

She looks down at her journal and places it on her nightstand that sat next to her bed. She dangles her legs across the side of the bed and places her bare feet on the hardwood floor. She stands up and walks over to her closet doors.

"You think I like the name 'Jules'? I'm not a fucking gem, Lilian. I'm a human being," she replies as she turns the golden knobs to her closet doors.

Her eyes roam the already protruding closet of clothes. She's trying to find an oversized sweater so she doesn't have to wear a bra and can still be considered "decent" for the boys of the house. It seemed pretty fucking sexist and double-standard to her but we do it for the men, right? She rolls her eyes at the thought but proceeds to take the baby blue, oversized fleece sweater off the hanger. She places it over her head and pulls it over her chest. She turns to see Lily's head bent down, reading a book of some sort at her nightstand. Wrong. It was her journal.

She quickly runs over to Lily and snatches the journal out of her hands.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Have you not heard of private property Lily?!" she hisses as she places the journal inside the drawer of her nightstand. She scoffs loudly and walks towards the door that leads to the hallway.

Lily quickly follows and closes the door behind her.

"I'm sorry, I know. I was just looking at the drawings. I promise I didn't read anything. I won't do it again," Lily said in a serious tone.

She let out a sarcastic chuckle but softened her eyes. She follows Lily down the hallway and walks down the long staircase. They both walk into the living room where they are met with all of the residents of the house, sitting and waiting for the meeting to start.

She plops into the empty lazy boy that sits near the loveseat that was against the left wall of the living room. She rocks it back and forth in a slight rhythm. She does this to ease her restless leg syndrome. Her right leg can only handle so much anxiety in one day.

All of the residents of the house waited for Lily to express what this meeting is for. 'Family' meetings are mainly for discussing issues happening in the house, group therapy, planning celebrations, or introducing a new housemate. Lily stands in the middle of the living room doorway and clasps her hands together.

"Alright, everybody. I interrupted all of your daily activities for a very special announcement. Usually, introducing new housemates isn't as big of an ordeal as this and we usually don't hold family meetings because of it. I know introducing housemates is a slow process and I introduce the person, individually, throughout the week until they're comfortable with each of you. However," Lily lifts her hands up in front of her before continuing, "This particular housemate is extremely special and it will definitely be a new experience, for me, as a rehab counselor."

Peter rolls his eyes and lets out a low chuckle, "What? Is Celine Dion our new housemate? Because I would LOVE to share my acid trip stories with a coked-out Celine Dion," he says with a smirk.

Everyone except Lily lets out a laugh while the housemates sitting beside Peter, give him high fives.

Lily lets out an annoyed sigh but continues her announcement, "No, Peter, it is not Celine Dion. But it IS someone who is very well known and I want you to give them the utmost respect, but also the same treatment you would give any other normal person on the street. Just because they are a celebrity, doesn't mean they will be getting special treatment here. They will be following the same exact rules you all have been following since the start of your programs and they will be penalized for any rules they break, just like all of you have in the past," Lily glares at Peter from the corner of her eye.

Peter scoffs but doesn't argue.

She clears her throat loudly and sits up in the lazy boy.

"Don't celebrities go to expensive ass rehabs so they don't have to deal with common civilians trying to leak their private information, even though we all know they all do coke off stripper's assholes?" she says, dryly.

Everyone except Lily, once again, lets out a laugh. They all nod in agreement.

"Yeah, why are they coming here? This is being funded by the state so it's just a regular rehab center for regular people. Why would they risk letting celebrities stay here?" Peter asks.

"Well, this person's manager thought it'd be best to put this particular celebrity in a regular center so that they wouldn't be accustomed to special treatment. They want this celebrity to focus solely on getting healthy, and being in a regular environment with common people can certainly help with that. I know it's a little unorthodox but when they contacted me, I was nothing short but ecstatic of the idea that I could help someone who's been in the spotlight for so long, get better. And I would appreciate if you were all on board with me so please. You will all be signing NDA's anyway, so it shouldn't matter either way."

Everyone in the room stays silent but acknowledges the situation at hand.

Lily clasps her hands once again and her serious expression turns into an eager smile.

"Okay well, now that I've given you that light introduction, I would like to direct your attention to the housemate that will be staying with us. Please welcome our newest housemate, Justin Bieber!"

Her jaw instantly drops along with everyone else's that sat in that living room.

No fucking way.

* * *

He placed his head on the coolness of the car window and watched the trees of the neighborhood, zoom by.

When he arrived at his mom's house that night, his mom immediately embraced him.

"Justin," she kept sobbing over and over again.

It was like a broken record. But he didn't care. He missed his mother's embrace. He missed the light scent of citrus in her hair. She missed her tiny arms around his muscular frame. He missed her soft forehead kisses and the comfort they gave him. He needed her to help him.

So that she did.

The rehab center she strategically picked was a secret of sorts. Of course, it was regulated and followed state laws, however, this particular rehab center allowed celebrities to enter the program under an alias. He was going to be disguised as Jonathan Mallette. The rehab counselors and all of the residents in the center will be informed about his true identity because…..well, it's hard to lie about a teenage sensation's identification. But NDA forms will be signed by all staff members and residents to keep his safety a top priority. Plus a few security guards here and there but those are minute details.

His mom was thrilled to have found such a special place. It was going to help him. Or at least try.

The driver pulls over in front of a large house that sits in the middle of the block. It is wide with dark green paneling and brown wood for the accent color that lines the outer parts of the windows and doors. It's two stories, with large glass windows and large oak trees surrounding the front part of the house.

He finally looks up when the car parks and stares at the house intensely. This is where he's going to be living for the next few months. Oh goodie.

His mom jumps out of the car onto the sidewalk and walks over to his car door to open it for him. He steps onto the wet grass, squirting small drops of water on the bottom of his black converse. He looks down and gives out a small groan before stepping onto the concrete of the sidewalk. His head tilts slightly backward to get a better look at the window at the top center of the house. He wonders who lives in that room, specifically. He pictured himself writing songs while staring out of that window.

Suddenly the front door of the house swings open and a petite, pale woman with bright red curly hair comes trotting down the steps towards him. She extends her tiny arm to greet him.

"Oh my gosh, hello Justin. It is SO exciting to meet you! I mean…..I wish we were meeting under better circumstances but it is still an honor to meet you," the woman stutters as she waits for him to exchange the greeting.

He stares at her small, jittery hand before taking it into his.

"Thank you for your hospitality," he mumbles and let's go of her hand.

She nods as her exaggerated smile grows wider.

"My name is Lilian Rose and I am the Executive Counselor for this center. So any questions you have, or any concerns, they will all go through me. We do have additional counselors with us at the center as well, however, I am the one who is in charge of facilitating everyone and making sure things run smoothly here. I am also the only counselor that resides with all of you in the center, so you're definitely in good hands if you ever feel unsafe or uncomfortable."

Lily nods her head in excitement as he tries to focus on the words that are spewing out of her lips. He was observing the freckles on the bridge of her nose. They danced every time she spoke and would change positions if she changed her expressions dramatically. Up and down, up and down. His gaze finally met hers and he nodded in agreement.

"Sounds chill," he responds.

Lily motions her right hand towards the door, indicating that it was time to go inside.

He turns to his mom before following Lily.

His mom cusps his face and leans in close to his face to lay her lips upon his soft cheek. She backs away and admires his facial features one more time before mouthing 'I love you'. He mimics the phrase back at her, then embraces her. He didn't want to leave but he was doing it for her.

Hopefully, soon, it would be for himself.

She pats him on the back softly, then breaks the embrace. She slowly walks towards the passenger seat of the black sedan and turns to watch him walk inside the house.

He doesn't turn back around, fearing that he will run back into her arms and never leave her side. The door closes behind him, leaving him officially separated from the outside world. This was it. There was no going back. At least, for a while. But he was determined to make his mom proud. He was determined to make his fans proud. He was determined to make himself proud.

He follows as Lily trots down the main hallway of the house, reciting information about the program, how many residents lived here, and what to expect on his first day as a patient. Her high pitched voice weaved in and out of his eardrums as his eyes wandered towards the walls of the hallway. There were pictures of different people scattered across the wooden walls. There were a few more guys than girls in this facility, which surprised him. I mean, he wasn't here for love. But being surrounded by women with little to no contact with the outside world would've helped him...just a little bit.

They were met with two double, dark wooden doors at the end of the hallway. His head turns towards the right where the sunlight was seeping through. He was looking at an open living room with one loveseat, one long L-shaped couch across from it, and a lazy boy that sat next to the loveseat on the opposite end from where he was standing. A huge painting of a meadow filled with different colored flowers hung above the lazy boy. Under that painting was a small, brick fireplace. This place seemed cozier than a "rehab center". It almost felt like home.

Lily slid the master key into the keyhole of the double doors and swung them open. He quickly turned his attention towards the open doors that surprisingly led into a small library. All four walls were covered in books, placed in dark wooden bookshelves. There were two ladders that were attached with wheels to maneuver them across all four walls. A medium-sized desk and a black leather chair sat in the middle of the room of the library. And four large lazy boys sat in each corner of the room for the residents to sit in while they read.

He felt that this would be his favorite room in the house, so far.

Lily clears her throat, interrupting his slight trance, and he turns to face her.

Lily clasps her hands.

"Okay. I will be right back. I'm just going to be rallying up our residents into our communal living room so I can properly introduce you. Usually, I would take you to each of their rooms and introduce you to each resident, individually, because it's less intimidating that way. However, since you are a celebrity and you're sort of used to a bunch of people in a room staring at you, I thought it would just be easier to introduce them to you all at once," she takes a quick breath before continuing, "Plus, I wasn't sure what would happen if I introduced you, as in Justin Bieber, to each resident without an individual accidentally mauling you. Not that any of my residents are dangerous but….you never know," she smiles widely without blinking.

He was waiting for her to laugh, insinuating that she was joking but she continued to smile widely (and creepily).

He finally nodded after a few seconds of silence and she let out a huge sigh as if she was holding her breath.

"Okay! Be right back. You can come out when I announce your name, okay? Ooh this is going to be so exciting!" Lily yelps as she walks out the double doors and closes them behind her.

Exciting is not the word I would've used. At this point, he knew she wasn't looking at him as "coke addict Justin". She was looking at him as "celebrity Justin" and she was off to tell all her "best friends" that Justin was in her house and waiting for their arrival.

He sighs in frustration but looks around the room to calm himself down. He walks over to one of the walls of books and lightly presses his fingertips along the spines of the books. He doesn't remember the last time he read. But as long as he was going to be here, he was willing to start again just to get out of his own head. Plus, it seemed the quietest place in the house. He just hopes no one else takes refuge here.

He slowly walks towards one of the lazy boys near the doors and sinks himself into one of them. He begins to rock it back and forth, gathering momentum as he goes along. He never had much anxiety when it came to performing or meeting new people, however, this was a little different. These were people who had a problem, just like him, and he was forced to face it. He was forced to look at these people and tell them his story and remind himself how far down he's really gone. He wasn't truly ready to face it. Even though he's come this far, he still has a long way to go.

What if he failed?

He was terrified that this would all be for nothing.

Suddenly, he heard people chattering in the living room. His heart started to pound. Fuck. What if he wasn't ready for any of this? His palms started to sweat and his eyes started to dart all over the room.

He patted the pockets of his denim jeans to try and find a small ziplock baggie that contained his powdery substance. For a moment, he forgot where he was and what he was doing here. He panicked and quickly stood up from the lazy boy.

Where is it?

He looked down at the ground and started scanning the floor for the bag. His footsteps were quick but silent. His eyes darted all over, trying to find the one thing that could deplete his anxiety.

Where IS it?

He circled the room at least five times before he heard his name being announced by the tiny, red-headed woman. The high pitch of her voice broke his panic and he stopped in front of the double doors. He suddenly remembered where he was. He also remembered that he was checked for any substances before they drove here. His breathing slowed and he looked at the golden doorknobs that waited to be turned.

He inhaled slowly, then exhaled slowly before turning the knobs and stepping out into the living room.

He was met with a lot more faces than what he saw a few minutes ago and he honestly didn't know what to say or do.

There were about seven people, in total, that were looking back at him (excluding Lily). There were four guys and three girls. Two guys sat on the opposite ends of each other on the L-shaped couch while one girl sat in between them, her legs in criss-cross position. Another guy and another girl sat together on the loveseat across from those three, the guy sitting with his legs crossed and his hands cupped together on his knee. The last guy stood behind and above the one sitting in the loveseat. And finally, his eyes met the gaze of the girl sitting with her knees to her chest in the lazy boy. She stared up at him with gleaming eyes but she did not smile at him like the others did.

Everyone eagerly waited for his response following Lily's introduction.

He gave a small smirk and waved his right hand in the air.

"Hi everyone, my name's Justin."

The quietness of the room turned into a room full of chatter and everyone exclaimed how excited they were to finally meet the person who sang 'Baby'.

"Oh my GOD! You are truly an icon. Your hair flips totally created a revolution for all teen bop stars since the late 2000s. Proud of you, sis," Peter exclaimed as he sassily snapped his fingers.

He chuckled lightly.

"Thanks, man. Appreciate that," he responds in a low tone.

The girl on the L-shaped couch uncrosses her legs and sits upright in excitement.

"Holy shit, you were totally my dream boyfriend when I was in middle school. I legit thought we were gonna get married when I went to one of your concerts in 2011. I can't believe I finally get to meet you after all this time!" she yelps before placing her hands over her mouth.

He nods once more.

"I mean, it's not too late to get married," he gives a small wink in her direction.

She screeches in laughter but stands up and starts jumping up and down.

Everyone is chatting up a storm, still in disbelief that Justin Bieber was standing in front of them. They all forgot what he was there for. For a moment, they forgot he was a drug addict. He was famous, teen sensation Justin right now. And frankly, he didn't mind it.

Until he glanced over at the girl, still sitting in the lazy boy. She was staring at him, intensely.

For a few moments, the whole room went silent and she was the only one in the room with him. He wanted to say something to her but he knew it would be weird to have an isolated conversation with the only person who wasn't trying to cop an autograph from him.

She kept his gaze for a few more seconds, then she suddenly stood up and walked into the other open room that seemed to be the kitchen. He shook his head slightly, before turning towards Lily who was gesturing for everyone to quiet down.

"Okay! I know it's really really exciting to finally meet your idol from a few years ago, but please remember what we're all here for. Justin is no longer a celebrity, teen bop sensation in this center. He is an addict like many of you, and like I said earlier, he will not be getting special treatment. He will be following the same rules you all follow and we will treat him like a regular person," she whipped her head towards him, "Got it? No special treatment. We are here to focus on the problem at hand and help you get better by the end of this program. Understand?"

Her eyes widened, waiting for a physical response from him.

He quickly nods and everyone begins to stand to greet him formerly.

Thankfully, he wasn't mauled. And he introduced himself to everyone in the room to get a better idea of what type of personalities he was dealing with.

Obviously, there was Peter, who was fiery and confident and was proud to be the 'gayest sister in the house'. Peter's words, not his.

Then there was Olivia, olive for short. She was the one who claimed her love for Justin a minute ago and continued to proclaim that she would indeed marry him one day. He was going to enjoy his time with her, for sure.

Next was Kyle. He was the silent type, of course, but was eager to tell Justin that he respected him as a musician, even though it was frowned upon to like him, as a guy, in junior high and high school.

There was Steven and Matthew, twins, who introduced themselves. He wondered how a set of twins would end up in rehab together, but who was he to judge.

Last, there was Kimberly, Kimmie for short. She was also a quiet one, but she was very excited to meet him. She also mentioned she was a big fan of him when she was younger but her taste in music changed as she grew older. He took no offense to it. He actually respected her decision.

He didn't catch the name of the girl who disappeared into the kitchen.

But he wanted to.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

* * *

She stood up from the lazy boy and practically marched towards the kitchen.

Justin fucking Bieber. Wow.

She pinched her forearm with the tips of her nails, hoping to wake up from this bizarre dream. Nope. It's reality. A small drop of blood suddenly oozed out from her new wound. And now she was bleeding. Great.

She stalked over to the fridge and swung one of the doors open. Her eyes skimmed for a bright red can that read 'Coca-Cola'. She wrapped her fingers around the cold can and took it out, closing the fridge door in front of her.

She turns towards the center island that sat in the middle of the kitchen and leaned her upper body against it. She let her fingers flip the metal piece on the soda can and punctured the metal. The fizzle of the carbonated drink echoed throughout the kitchen and she took a small sip. Good old corn syrup.

She listened to the chatter of her housemates as they introduced themselves to the former teen sensation. She chuckled to herself. It seemed like a lifetime ago she was obsessed with this person. His face on laminated posters filled her walls when she was sixteen years old. She dedicated blogs to him, tweets about him, she even wrote fanfiction about him, once or twice….okay more than twice.

The point is, she knew everything about this man. And it was embarrassing to admit, even to herself. That's why he will never know. That's why she walked away.

She stands up straight to stretch out her spine when he suddenly walks through the doorway of the kitchen. She instantly places her hands to her sides and lets out an exasperated breath but doesn't say anything.

He walked over to her slowly, as if any sudden movements would trigger her into attacking him.

Please. You're not that special.

He extends his arm to introduce himself to her.

"Hi, I'm Just-"

"Justin Bieber. I know. I'm not deaf or blind," she rudely interrupts.

He stops walking towards her and his facial expression changes from smug to confused, his arm still extended out for her to grab.

She stares at his hand and doesn't budge.

He slowly returns his left arm down to his side and clears his throat.

"I didn't catch your name back there," he points towards the living room with his thumb, "Sorry."

Her expression softens a little but doesn't show a change of emotion overall. She nods and decides to play the game.

"Julia. Julia Alvarado," she says as she extends her hand towards him.

He stares at her hand, then back up again. His eyes glisten in the sunlight that is seeping through the kitchen window. They're a mixture of brown and light green, almost a hazel tint if you wanted to call it that. For a moment, she forgets where she is.

He extends his hand out once more and shakes hers. His hands are soft.

She realizes where she is again, and breaks away from his grip. Their fingertips linger on for a second, before completely slipping away. She clears her throat and shakes her head as if she was breaking a magic spell from her consciousness.

"Well, I better get back to my room. Your little 'introduction' interrupted the little rave party I had going on," she sputters out and starts to turn towards the opposite door of the kitchen that leads to the second set of stairs.

He starts to mutter and steps forward with his hands motioning for her to stop.

"Wait! I um-...I-" he stutters.

She stops and turns to face him. Her expression turns into an irritated one.

"Yes?" she asks.

His eyes dart between her and the doorway. She's trying extremely hard not to react to his nervousness because in truth, she was just as nervous as he was. Maybe even more nervous. But she wasn't going to show him that side of her. At least, not yet. He needed to know that his presence didn't affect her one bit and that she was dominant in this situation. But if he didn't say something in the next 5 seconds, her knees were going to buckle.

"Umm ...I was wondering if we could swap stories sometime. I mean, about raving. I've never been to a rave before because well...teen sensation and all," he laughs nervously.

She stares at him, still confused, but nods her head slowly.

"Uhh, yeah, I guess," she manages to say then turns and walks out of the kitchen.

Uhh yeah, I guess? What was she: incompetent? Come on. She was embarrassed enough as it is. But she made it all the way up the staircase and into her room before she could let out the huge breath she was holding in. Jesus Christ. What a fucking roller coaster of emotions.

But it's not over. She still has to learn how to live with the guy.

Great. Add that to the list of steps.

She walks over to her bed and plops her whole body onto her fluffy white comforter. She buries her face into her pillowcase and lets out a muffled scream.

A second later, Lily lightly taps on her bedroom door.

"Hey there, Julia. Did you get to say hi to Justin? I didn't see you walk up to him during introductions. Olivia was so quick to express how obsessed she was with him. It was a pretty surreal moment for her, I bet," Lily let out a laugh.

She lifted her face from the pillow and propped her arms up so that her upper body was being supported by her elbows.

"We briefly met in the kitchen, yes, but I don't believe the hype. He was a teen sensation who probably blew most of his money on coke and alcohol and cheated on Selena every chance he had. I don't support artists who waste their talent like that. Also," she stood up from her bed and walked towards the doorway where Lily was standing, "I don't appreciate the fact that he profited off black culture and their music, the majority of the time. So if you don't mind, I would like to finish my program in peace so I don't have to stay in the same house as him for one more minute."

She slams the door in Lily's face.

Okay. So she was a little pressed that he wasn't the same star that she fell in love with all those years ago. And I guess it wasn't entirely his fault that he was so psychologically damaged that he had to check into a rehab center. However, pride was also a thing. So for now, that's what Lily was going to have to deal with.

She let out a frustrated sigh and slammed her fist into the same pillowcase her face was suffocating into, moments ago. She was disappointed that she reacted the way she did when he first walked through those living room doors. She wanted to express how much his music meant to her as a teenage girl. But those days were over I guess.

She now finds comfort in sounds that mimic metal scraping metal. Lovely.

She sits on her bed and turns towards her nightstand. She reaches for the knob of the drawer and pulls out her journal. She flips through a new, clean page and picks up her black, ballpoint pen she was scribbling with beforehand. She begins to write a song lyric that was stuck in her head at that particular moment. She then starts to hum the melody to herself, out loud.

Her humming turns into open vowels and she continues to write.

She smiled down at the now filled page of lyrics. She continues to sing out loud as she places her journal on top of her nightstand and starts dancing across her room.

Guess her writer's block decided to take a break today.

* * *

He doesn't know what he did wrong.

Was it something he said?

Did he come off too strong?

He just wanted to know her name.

All of these questions ran through his mind, yet he still didn't have any answers.

What was her deal?

Olivia taps him on the shoulder, immediately breaking his trance and forcing him to spin towards her so that he was now facing her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just….wanted to know if you would like to see my room! Or uhh- everyone's room?" Olivia shakes her head frantically, "Lily wanted me to give you a tour of the house. That's what I'm trying to say oh my God, why was that so hard to say?" she laughs nervously.

He watches her move her hands in the air like she was directing traffic. He chuckled softly.

"I would like that, thanks," he says with a smug smile.

She instantly blushes but extends her hand so she could grab his.

"Right this way," she says softly, then leads him towards the staircase Julia walked up moments ago.

He follows her up the long wooden staircase, tracing his fingertips along the smooth wooden railing. There were more pictures that ascended across the walls of the staircase. Now he had names for these smiling faces. There were pictures of Peter posing in a pink sequin dress, the twins posing as Marvel characters for Halloween, even a picture of Olivia in a bright yellow sundress. She had her arms crossed while smiling brightly, next to a baby blue wall. He smiled at that one. She looked so cute, so sweet.

The last picture caught his attention the most, though. In a small black frame, a picture of Julia hung on the wall. She wasn't looking at the camera, concluding that this photo was indeed candid. It was the left side of her profile and she was looking up towards the sky. She wore a short, denim blue sundress with black buttons that lined the middle, from top to bottom. Her long dark brown hair was lightly curled and draped over her bare shoulders. The sun peeked through from the left side as well, giving her silhouette a halo effect: she resembled a literal angel, if you will. Her left arm was extended out, probably to no one in particular, while holding a white flower. Her facial expression was soft but her eyes were a fiery amber from the reflection of the sunlight. The photo was breathtaking. She was breathtaking.

His daydream came to an end when Olivia's high pitched voice rang inside his eardrums and he was snapped back into reality.

Her hand still held onto his, tightly now, as she led him to the top of the stairs and began pointing to each room.

"Peter and the twins are roommates. They don't mind him, most of the time. Only when he blasts Beyonce at 3 AM. That's when they get a little hostile and tend to 'beat him up' with their pillows," she giggles.

She points towards the next room.

"That's Kimmie's room. She doesn't mind the noise the three boys make next door to her. She's usually in her room, painting. We have her paintings displayed all over the house, including the big one with the meadow full of flowers, in the living room. She's SO talented," Olivia exclaims.

He nods and looks in to see if she's in there. He sees a large, half-painted canvas sitting on a large easel in the corner of her room. She's painting a night sky, or that's what it looks like so far. The dark blues, purples, and blacks on the top of the canvas descend down until the colors abruptly stop in the middle. It remains unfinished, for now.

She then stops in the middle of the hallway, in between two rooms. The bedroom door on the left of her is closed while the other is wide open. She points to the one on her left.

"That's Julia's room. She keeps her room closed MOST of the time, only because she hates the world and doesn't believe that the open door policy creates an open form of communication and positivity amongst roommates. She likes her privacy. But it's sad because we barely even know her. We only know her story regarding her addiction because she refuses to share anything else about her personal life," she slightly frowns before continuing, "Anyway, here's MY room."

She walks over to the bedroom on her right and points towards the doorway.

"Would you like to see it?" she smiles in excitement.

He was staring at Julia's door for a few seconds. He was the same way. He wasn't here to share personal stories about his fame or his money or how he lost the love of his life in front of millions of people across the world.

He just wanted to get better and leave. But for some reason, he wanted to know her story. He wanted to know the deep parts of her and wondered why she would close herself off to the world. He wanted to know her. And he wanted her to know him.

He shook his head slightly, then turned towards Olivia.

"Sorry, yeah of course," he mumbled then walked towards her to enter her room.

Her room was a bright baby blue with posters all over her walls. The posters had inspirational quotes slapped across them. Phrases like "Be Brave" and "Strong is my middle name" were plastered on either side, above her desk. Her queen-sized bed sat in the center, against the wall, and a pastel pink comforter laid across it. Her small ivory desk had two small drawers and sat on the adjacent wall, in the right corner of the room. She had two double doors that led into her walk-in closet, near her desk. And on the wall near the door sat a full-sized mirror.

Her room looked like a pastel palette threw up in it. But it definitely suited her.

"Well, what do you think?" her high pitched voice echoes through the room.

He looks around and nods his head in agreement.

"It definitely suits you," he responds and looks at her beaming face.

"Right?! I love it. Like, I know a rehab center is all depressing and sad because hello, we're addicts. But I wanted to make this room somewhat of a safe space for myself. Somewhere I can go to after a long day of thinking about how long it's going to take me to actually heal from this sickness and I just….love it." Her wide eyes focus on his before he realizes that she was waiting for his response.

"Oh yeah….right. It's important to have a….safe space…," he awkwardly spits out.

She bends her head to left, slightly, and giggles out loud.

"You're so nervous, huh? I get it. It's a new place with new people and it's not something you're used to. You're probably used to concert venues and booze and girls!" she lifts her hands in the air and waves them around.

"It must've all been so exciting," she said softly. She holds her gaze on his in hopes that he opens up to her.

He stares at her blankly, then shakes his head in disagreement.

"It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. It was all super intimidating and cutthroat and, overall, really terrifying," he looks down at the floor. His gaze freezes on a small red spot on the carpet of her room. It takes him back to a time his nose bled from the membranes rupturing when he did 8 lines of coke in one sitting. He continued to stare at the floor, expressionless.

"It was the best but the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

She stares at him, warily, wondering if he was okay.

He lifts his face abruptly and stares her dead in her eyes.

"And I wouldn't wish this type of life for anyone. Not even my worst enemy."

He stares down at the floor again, tears almost running down his cheeks.

He wasn't here to share stories about the glitz and glamour of being a superstar.

He just wanted to be better. He just wanted to forget any of this ever happened.


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

* * *

It's been a few days since he's been here.

It takes all of her energy and strength not to run into him in the hallways or in the kitchen or even communal bathroom. But obviously she can't avoid him at 'family' dinners or meetings. Unfortunately, the house had group therapy today. Fantastic.

However, she recently discovered that he takes showers last, out of everyone in the house, so she can definitely avoid him then.

She sat in her room trying to pinpoint where exactly she would go for her outing this month.

Every month, residents get one free day where they can leave the center and, technically, do whatever they want, wherever they want. Of course, there were rules to the game: no alcohol, no gambling, and no drugs. Surprise, surprise. Residents also have to earn these privileges every month, whether it be doing chores, participating in group therapy, or even updating Lily regarding residents' behaviors. It's basically school but more like a prison. In reality, it's hell.

She scribbled in her journal with her blue colored ballpoint pen.

_Bolsa Chica Beach_

_Hiking in Malibu_

_Disneyland _

_Ice Cream in L.A_

_Concert_

That last one was risky. Concerts involve dancing but they also involve alcohol and drugs. Lily was always wary about concerts being on her list but she was ready to push the boundaries if it meant she could listen to live music for once.

She missed it, so much.

Like her bladder missed the toilet.

She stood up and walked over to her bedroom door. She turned the knob and swung the door open, still looking down at her bare feet that glided across the carpet in her room.

The bathroom stood in between hers and Olivia's room but on the opposite side of the hallway.

She continued to look down as she stepped onto the hardwood floor of the hallway and suddenly collided with another body.

The force and weight of the other body pushed her, causing her to fall backward but her arm extended so that she caught the left arm of the body and pulled them down with her. The person's right arm instantly cradled her back to cushion the fall, however, their body weighed heavily on hers when they made contact with the hardwood floor.

Her vision went blurry and she instantly closed her eyes but slowly opened them to see whose body was crushing hers.

Of course. It was his.

He wore nothing but a wet towel around his waist and beads of water were slowly dripping onto her grey pajama shirt. His messy, wet hair had droplets as well and dripped onto her face, causing her to move her head from side to side as if she could dodge them.

His gaze met hers and his eyes instantly went wide.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment and the world went silent. She observed the length of his eyelashes. They were long, black and curly. They were the shields for the greenest of eyes. He had slight freckles on the bridge of his nose and they danced when he would scrunch his face, even with minimal movement. Her eyes maneuvered past his cupid's bow and onto his lips. They looked so soft and so full. Only for a second did she think about leaning in.

But the fantasy disappeared when she realized that his wet towel was soaking her black pajama shorts and her bare upper thighs.

She wiggled underneath him and let go of the arm she was hanging onto so tightly.

"Oh God, I-I'm...so sorry," he stuttered and quickly lifted himself up.

He extended his hand out to help lift her up but she waved her hand in the air.

"I'm fine," she spits out and pushes the ground with her right hand to help herself up.

She fixes herself and stares down at her now soaking wet clothes.

"Damn it, now I have to change out of my pajamas today," she moans and gives him an annoyed look.

He gives her an empathetic look and runs his hand through his still wet hair.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," he says, apologetically.

Her expression softens. She sighs softly and nods her head.

"Well, watch it next time," she responds and turns to walk towards the bathroom.

She hears him wait a few seconds before walking towards the staircase, towards his room on the bottom floor.

God. Why. Why can't she just tell him how she feels? Why can't she be vulnerable? Because she's been burned way too many times. He's a billionaire AND an addict. That's just asking for trouble. She enters the bathroom and closes the door behind her. She closes her eyes in disappointment and bangs the back of her head against the bathroom door.

She inhales and exhales slowly. She was tired of acting like this. But she did it for good reason.

One pee break and outfit change later, she finally trots down the stairs and into the living room where she meets all of the other housemates in their respective seats. Only this time, he was the one sitting in the lazy boy. Her blood boiled.

Before she could publicly humiliate him in front of their housemates, Lily's high pitched voice filled the room.

"Okay, everyone. Welcome to another group therapy session. Today is Justin's first session since he's been with us in the program, so does anyone want to explain how we execute it?"

Everyone stays silent for a few seconds before a small voice in the corner of the loveseat speaks up.

"Well, it's basically a session where everyone in the room goes around and either tells a story about their addiction, how they wish to overcome it, what they should do if they feel the need to relapse, or anything related to your road to recovery. If you don't feel like sharing, you can comment on other people's stories or even tell them how their story made you feel. There aren't any right or wrong answers when giving advice. We try to create a comfortable enough space where everyone in the group has told their personal story regarding their addictions and we try to build each other up near the end of the discussion," Kimmie says.

Everyone in the room, besides him, nods their head in agreement and turn towards Lily to start the session.

Lily nods her head to acknowledge that the room is open for discussion.

"Alright, who's going to start?" Lily turns towards her as she continues to stand in the doorway of the living room. She forgot she was still standing there.

"Oh, Julia! Great!" she exclaims and takes a seat in the chair that sits in the middle of the living room.

She stutters and shakes her head in protest but everyone waits for her to start her story. She quickly looks in his direction. He does not look amused nor smug in this situation. Instead, his body is upright with his feet touching the floor. His eyes seem eager to hear what she has to say.

She's confused as to why he would want to listen to her story when he probably has endless stories about himself, crazier stories even. But he's patient, still eager to listen.

She looks around the room at everyone, then looks down at the floor. She's wearing socks now since her feet were covered in towel water earlier and they were cold.

She clears her throat loudly then opens her mouth to speak. She begins her story.

* * *

After that small house tour with Olivia, he was guided downstairs to where his room would be for the next couple of months. Oddly enough, he was rooming with his housemate Kyle.

He asked Olivia why the three girls had their own rooms.

"We did all have roommates at one point, however, they all finished their programs early and got to leave. Guess they were all just stronger minded," she shrugged casually but continued, "Lily suggested that all three of us girls room together after each roommate left, but obviously Jules was not a fan. So Lily allowed each of us to stay by ourselves! With an open-door policy of course."

"Excluding Julia," he chuckled softly.

She giggled and rolled her eyes, "Yepp."

Olivia led him to his room and told him to not be shy around Kyle.

"He might be the silent type, but he doesn't bite," she proclaimed.

Once he was situated, the next few days rolled by. Lily went over his program, telling him the do's and don'ts of the program and what to expect in terms of the "steps".

He skimmed the 12 step program and assured Lily that he would "try his best" to follow them. He wasn't sure he believed himself yet but it didn't hurt to say it out loud to remind himself for later.

The rest of the week consisted of Lily teaching him about chore duties, free days, the rules of the house, and absolutely no fornication in the house. Relationships were allowed, however, they were encouraged not to engage in intercourse for the sake of the other residents in the house.

He definitely wasn't excited about that rule but he wasn't too worried about it either. If he played his cards right, he could leave the program early and then it wouldn't have to be a problem.

During the days that passed, he didn't encounter her at all. Only at dinners. She would either look off into the distance or at her plate the whole time. He wanted to know what he did to upset her so much.

Near the end of the week, Lily mentioned group therapy. This was his first time being involved in group therapy, so he did not know what to expect. He wanted to take a shower beforehand to get his mind off of the thought of sharing his personal story with these strangers.

After he was finished, he opened the door but didn't look up in time to move out of her way. He collapsed on top of her but held onto her back to make sure her body didn't completely hit the floor. He was taken aback that she grabbed his arm to prevent herself from falling but he was already tumbling down with her.

Their eyes met for a brief second and she didn't look away. He stared at the deep crevices in her eyes. They looked like small mountains if you looked deep enough. Maybe even sand dunes if her eyes hit a certain angle of the light. They told a sad story and all he wanted to do was listen.

He stared at her lips as well and he was eager to lean in.

But she refused to look at him after those few seconds and wiggled her body so that she could get off him.

"Oh God, I-I'm...so sorry," he stuttered and quickly lifted himself up.

He looked down to make sure his towel was still wrapped around his waist. He extended his hand out to help lift her up but she waved her hand in the air.

"I'm fine," she spits out and pushes the ground with her right hand to help herself up.

"Damn it, now I have to change out of my pajamas today," she moans and gives him an annoyed look.

He didn't mean to bump into her and get her wet but now he was imagining different things: her without clothes on.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," he says, apologetically.

Her expression softens. She sighs softly and nods her head.

"Well, watch it next time," she responds and turns to walk towards the bathroom.

He waits a few seconds before turning towards the staircase and heading downstairs towards his room.

Damnit. Why did he do such a foolish thing? But also, why was she so angry with him? He was going to find out, sooner or later, because he didn't know how much more of this he could take. He wanted an answer.

He swiftly changed into a red cotton pullover and grey sweats. He didn't bother drying his hair because he was lazy but he made sure to dry it enough so it wasn't dripping water all over the place.

He stalked over to the living room where he met all of the other housemates and sat in the last available seat he could find: the lazy boy chair. He plopped himself onto it and let the chair rock back and forth for a few seconds. That's when she appeared in the living room doorway and caught her staring right at him. She looked furious.

But before she could publicly humiliate him in front of their housemates, Lily's voice chimed in.

A moment later, Kimmie explained how the session would work and how it would benefit us in the healing process. Lily cleared her throat after Kimmie was finished.

"Alright, who's going to start?" Lily turns towards her, still standing in the doorway of the living room.

"Oh, Julia! Great!" she exclaims and takes a seat in the chair that sits in the middle of the living room.

She shakes her head in protest but everyone is staring up at her waiting to start her story, including him. This was it. This was his chance to finally get to know her. Well, at least a piece of her. He eagerly sits up in the lazy boy and places his feet on the ground. He didn't want to miss anything.

Why didn't he want to miss anything?

She looked surprised that he was staring at her but she finally gave in and began her story.

"Umm, well ok. Most of you know this already but for those who don't…...I was a coke addict. Am…," she darted her eyes away from him, "I am a coke addict."

"Uhh, I started doing coke after my boyfriend of 4 years broke up with me. It was an extremely negative break up and even after months and months of not being in contact with him, I was still in love with him. He called me up one night, asking to hang out….and asked if I would like to go to a party with him," she fumbled with her sweatshirt sleeves while looking down at the ground, "So I did. Like an idiot."

"He took me to this party and we had a couple of drinks and then he took me into this empty room. He sat me down at a desk and pulled out this little plastic bag with a white, powdery substance sitting inside of it. It looked like powdered sugar at first and I remember laughing. I asked him, 'Why do you have sugar in your pocket?' and he shook his head and said 'This isn't sugar, babe. It's coke'. And then I just remember my expression going from happiness to shock. Complete shock. Where the fuck did he get this from and why was he doing this? I looked at him but he instantly shut down my doubts."

"At this point in my life, I had never done any type of drug before. I was against any type of drug, even weed, because of my family's history of drug addiction. But when he took out that little bag of powder, all of those values and promises I made to myself went completely out the window," she waved her hand in the air for visualization.

"He told me what was in it, what the effects were, and to not freak out if I wanted to try it. Obviously I was extremely hesitant, however, there was only one thing on my mind. If I do this," tears were forming at the bottom of her lash line, "I will win him back. If I do this one thing with him," she sniffled softly, "He will love me again."

Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks and a slight sob left her lips.

He wanted to run and hug her, telling her it was okay. He wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault. She wasn't a monster. She was just broken.

She wipes her cheeks with the sleeve of her grey sweater and clears her throat.

"Anyway uhh, he taught me how to snort it through a dollar bill and I've been addicted to it ever since. The end," she abruptly stops and stares at him, once again. Her eyes were no longer full of pain. They were angry and were ready to pierce through his soul. But he didn't budge. He stared right back.

She held his gaze for one more second before darting her eyes towards Lily and shaking her head vigorously.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this," her voice quivers and she quickly leaves the room to run towards the staircase.

Lily jumps up to stop her but everyone in the room could hear her running up the wooden staircase and slamming her bedroom door behind her. Lily turned towards the group and sighed in disbelief.

He was ready to share it all if it meant she would share with him.

She was his secret gem.


End file.
